


in awe of that which cannot be seen

by Tatsumaki_sama



Category: Bleach
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Friendship, Gen, Protectiveness, Zanpakutou
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-11-26
Updated: 2015-02-27
Packaged: 2018-02-27 01:15:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 12,609
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2673386
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tatsumaki_sama/pseuds/Tatsumaki_sama
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kurosaki Ichigo can't see ghosts like his sisters but he doesn't really mind because at least he could see the old man.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Spoilers up to chapter 542. Inspired by “Sight” by cywcross where Ichigo could see both regular spirits and zanpakuto spirits. Go read that story now! I decided to switch it up and write what if Ichigo could only see zanpakuto spirits but seemingly doesn't have his usual enormous spiritual power. More details about this will be explained. 
> 
> The title is from Bleach's tagline, "We stand in awe of that which cannot be seen, and we respect with every fiber that which cannot be explained". Due to the nature of this story, Ichigo would become more closer to the zanpakuto than the shinigami, such as Sode no Shirayuki for Rukia or Zabimaru for Renji. For some zanpakuto that hasn't had much screen time such as Benihime or Ryujin Jakka, I developed their personality based off their wielders or from what others had said about them. Hope you enjoy this!

For as long as Ichigo could remember, he was able to see the old man, just like he could see other ordinary human beings.

 

The old man came and went as he pleased, mostly remaining in the corner of Ichigo's room but he was often seen wandering the halls of Ichigo's school or by the riverside or whatever street Ichigo happened to be walking by. He was quiet and not even his black cloak made a sound and didn't bother anyone so Ichigo left him as is.

 

He had first thought he had gained the ability to see ghosts like Karin or Yuzu, even if Yuzu could only see blurs or wisps of spirits but when he pointed the old man out to them, neither could see him. He didn't even try with his mom or dad who for some reason never had that ability to see ghosts. So he thought perhaps this was a special type of ghost that was bonded to him or something of that nature.

 

He tried to ask the old man about it but the old man either gave a cryptic answer or said nothing at all. Eventually Ichigo gave up and just referred to him as “old man” which he appeared to be content with and answered to if Ichigo called. In some ways, he became like a secondary uncle to Ichigo when Ichigo never had any aunts or uncles.

 

Even when Ichigo's mother died ( _killed_ , he insisted, raging to the skies, _she was killed, I killed her_ ), the old man was there to wipe away the tears and hold him as the boy sobbed and shook under his blankets. 

 

He would only solemnly say “I'm sorry” again and again and Ichigo never understood why. He told him he had nothing to apologize for, it wasn't his fault and he wasn't the one who killed his mother _(it was me_ ) _._ And eventually, every year on that day of the anniversary, the old man retreated to wherever he went when he wasn't with Ichigo and wouldn't reappear until the next day.

 

It was a presence that always assured Ichigo he was there. When students and teachers whispered and gossiped over his delinquent status, the old man glared at them and if they happened to wonder why the air around them got cold, nobody knew better. When thugs and mobsters started gunning for him, he might not have been there physically to help Ichigo throw a punch but his darkly threatening aura was enough to send a lot of them running. Even when everything was silent and the nights were long, Ichigo knew the old man was there, watching him, making sure that he was safe and protected.

 

It wasn't long before Ichigo semi-counted the old man as part of his family, even if a good portion of said family wasn't able to see or hear him.

 

~.~.~

 

All Ichigo had for a warning was the strange black butterfly that brushed past his face before a strange woman dressed in white stepped through his wall.

 

A sudden chill breezed in the room even though the window was closed and it was a warm spring evening. Ichigo was transfixed at the woman, dressed in a white kimono, as pale and light as her long hair. Her skin was an ashen color and her lips a myriad of blue and lavender as if she had been standing too long outside in the cold. He was explicitly reminded of stories of the yuki-onna and knew the myths were not exaggerating their cold beauty.

 

When she quietly spoke, he could have sworn that a few flakes of snow danced behind her, weaving between her hair. “ Please be careful, Rukia-dono,” she said softly, gazing towards something unseen. “ The Hollow is nearby.”

 

Rukia-dono? Hollow? It was unfortunate the old man wasn't here. Unable to take this intrusion into his room and blabbing about nonsense things anymore, Ichigo stood his full height, preparing to fight. “ Who are you?” he demanded.

 

The woman took a quick look dismissively at him, her icy blue eyes flicking briefly over his direction before continuing to stare at the empty distance of Ichigo's room.

 

“ I said, who the hell are you?!” Ichigo snapped, this time aiming a kick towards her backside.

 

The resulting action sent the woman crumbling ungracefully to the bedroom floor like a string-less puppet. With an unladylike shriek, she sprawled on the floor, blinking in confusion. She finally spun around to look at him, eyes comically wide and mouth gaping like a fish.

 

“ You're pretty confident for a burglar,” Ichigo growled threateningly.

 

It took a few more minutes of the woman staring and stammering incomprehensibly before she managed to make some sense of her words. “ Y-you can see me? And – and touch me?” she gasped, looking like _she_ had seen a ghost. She glanced towards the side, as if looking at someone before turning back to him. “ But you can't see Rukia-dono? ”

 

“ What are you talking about?” he scowled.

 

A clatter of footsteps interrupted Ichigo and Karin popped her head around the door. “ Ichi-nii-san, what's with the ruckus?”

 

“ How can I not make a ruckus with that person around?” Ichigo jerked his finger towards the woman. “ Dad's security must be acting up to let people like that into our house.”

 

Karin frowned. “ I don't see anybody there.”

 

Now it was Ichigo's turn to frown. “ I'm talking about this woman in the kimono – ”

 

“ There is no point,” the woman calmly said from behind Ichigo, startling him. “ No human or spirit can see me. And at times, not even my own shinigami,” she added in a sad tone.

 

Before he could ask what she meant by that, Karin tugged at his sleeve in concern. “ Ichi-nii-san? Are you ... starting to see ghosts?” she hesitantly asked.

 

Forcing a smile, Ichigo ruffled her hair. “ Don't worry about it. I'm probably just tired. You go back down and stop Dad from eating all the rice before me, okay?”

 

“ All right.” With one last suspicious glance at her brother's empty room, Karin left and allowed Ichigo to return to glaring at the woman.

 

“ Start talking. Tell me who are you.”

 

The woman sat in a perfectly posed position, her previous ruffled appearance gone. “ My name is Sode no Shirayuki,” she bowed deeply. “ My sincere apologies for my earlier misunderstanding. You must understand that there has been no other soul that has seen me other than my shinigami. Shinigami are sent from Soul Society to exorcise and exterminate spirits in the human world,” she quickly summarized when she saw Ichigo's baffled expression.

 

“ What are you then? You're not a spirit or a shinigami.”

 

Sode no Shirayuki smiled wistfully. “ I am a zanpakuto. A spirit of the sword of my master. I am a representative and a reflection of Rukia-dono's soul. We fight together to stop Hollows or any other threat to Soul Society.”

 

“ And this Rukia person can't see you?”

 

“ Only in our inner world are we able to communicate.” She gazed longingly outside the window, perhaps at someone that Ichigo couldn't see. “ But you ...” Her eyes turned back towards him, thoughtful and wondering. “ You can see me yet you cannot see Rukia-dono or any other spirits. How is that possible?”

 

Ichigo shrugged. “ Don't ask me. Why are you and Rukia are here in the first place?”

 

Sode no Shirayuki would have answered had not she heard something for her ears alone. With a gasp, she stood up, rushing towards the window. “ Rukia-dono!” she cried out. And with a flutter of her sleeves, she flew out the window, leaving Ichigo dumbfounded.

 

“ Hey! I'm not done with you yet!”

 

Bowling down the stairs and past an alarmed Yuzu, Ichigo shot out the door, shouting to the confused Karin that he would be back soon. If that Sode no Shirayuki thought she could evade his questions by running away, she was wrong.

 

Skidding to a stop outside his house and into his neighbourhood, Ichigo spied Sode no Shirayuki crouching near the ground, hands gripping something (or someone) unseen to Ichigo, whispering frantic assurances.

 

His irritation faded away and concern replaced it. “ Hey, are you all right?” he called out, taking a step forward.

 

Suddenly realizing he was there, Sode no Shirayuki cried out. “ Don't come near us! Run! Get away from here!”

 

Something invisible grabbed him, flinging him towards the wall. With a sickening crack, Ichigo slid to the ground like a limp doll, gasping and shuddering. Pain exploded at the back of his head and he could feel the slick wetness of blood dripping down his hair. His vision began to blur.

 

The pressure continued to push and squeeze against his entire body, crushing his lungs, leaving him without enough breath to scream. A foul, hot air blew itself heavily over him, suffocating him even more. Dimly, he heard someone calling out his name but he couldn't tell who. Darkness crept into his vision and he could hear his own heart beat growing quieter and quieter and quieter ...

 

Suddenly, there was a loud screech of metal snapping through the air and the pressure lessened and the stench was gone, enabling Ichigo to breath properly again. Gasping, he struggled to sit up, scratching uselessly at the cracked wall behind him for support and trying to squint at what was in front of him.

 

The old man stood before him, his black cape fluttering in the evening wind and a long black blade held in his hand. Smoking black blood spilt from the blade in fat drops. His normally composed eyes blazed with a fury that Ichigo never saw before. “ You hurt Ichigo,” the old man said quietly and angrily all at once.

 

With an inhuman speed, the old man leapt through the air swinging his sword with deadly precision. More black blood soaked his blade even though for all Ichigo could tell, he was randomly slashing and cutting the air.

 

“ Child!” Sode no Shirayuki ran to his side. “ Are you all right?”

 

“ Y-yeah.” He touched the back of his head and winced when he saw his hand came back bloody. “ And I'm not a child,” he muttered absently.

 

Ignoring him, Sode no Shirayuki's gaze switched from him to the strangely one-sided battle in front of them where the old man continued to hack away at his enemy. Her lips were pressed together in an inscrutable expression and her gaze was fixed upon the old man. “ That zanpakuto ... who is he? Whose shinigami does he belong to?”

 

Either he had hit his head harder than he thought or he just heard Sode no Shirayuki call the old man a zanpakuto and belonging to a shinigami. Not to mention she was able to _see_ him. “ The old man? You can see him too? He doesn't belong to anyone. Well, I guess he's mine, I think. He's always been around me,” he gabbled unintelligently. _I'm going to need to see Dad for stitches_ , he mused. 

 

“ You?” Sode no Shirayuki was incredulous, somehow able to make sense of his rambles. “ But you are an ordinary human without any reiatsu. How could you have a zanpakuto if you are not a shinigami?”

 

“ I ...” Ichigo wasn't able to answer her. Somewhere ahead, the old man flicked the last of the blood from his blade and sheathed it, indicating the battle was over and he had won. When he saw that Ichigo was sitting up and hale enough, the old man's shoulders released their tension.

 

“ Ichigo,” was all he needed to say to convey his relief and it was all that Ichigo needed to know that he didn't care who or what the old man was.

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had an interesting time writing Benihime. We had a lovely portrayal of her in "Sight" and I hoped I wrote her character well. Most of her personality came from the fact Urahara himself stated Benihime was "not nice".
> 
> I thought it would be interesting to have Rukia and Urahara realize and discover Ichigo's power early on. It sets up a unique dynamic where Ichigo doesn't have his immense power but has something even rarer than that. Besides Ichigo can be a pretty terrible liar.

Ichigo fidgeted uncomfortably, being under the gaze of several people – some that happened to be unwanted. Urahara and Rukia might be only aware of the three of them sitting there but Ichigo had to endure an additional three pair of eyes.

 

The old man had settled himself in the corner. Sode no Shirayuki was sitting next to Rukia. Who happened to be a lot shorter (and more short-tempered) than Ichigo had expected. She explained to him earlier before this meeting that she was currently inhabiting the body of a gigai, allowing her to interact with the human world and let humans see her.

 

But the most interesting one was the figure behind Urahara.

 

She was dressed entirely in red, her face hidden a veil. Her long deadly-looking nails, clasped neatly at her lap, were painted a blood red. The way her head was held high and how she sat perfectly positioned just shouted out she was royalty and she made sure everyone else knew it. And once in a while, she would sigh and tap her fingers restlessly against the flawless skin of the back of her hand.

 

“ So Kuchiki-san tells me that you have an unusual ability,” Urahara smiled cheerily, a contrast to the impatient woman that Ichigo guessed was his zanpakuto.

 

Two could play at that game. “ Yeah, I suppose so.”

 

“ She mentioned that you had a habit of rambling to yourself, speaking to thin air. And later on, a man appeared to save your life from the Hollow, wielding a zanpakuto.” He leaned forward, interest piqued in his calculating eyes. “ Yet I don't sense any notable amount of reiatsu in you. And while it is quite obvious you cannot see spirits and you are not a shinigami, I wonder who was it that you were talking to and how this mysterious zanpakuto was able to come to your aid.”

 

He didn't know what to say, so he gave a noncommittal shrug.

 

Urahara continued blithely. “ And if this zanpakuto is in fact yours, how is it possible that a zanpakuto was able to gain a corporeal form on their own accord to fight a Hollow when no zanpakuto has yet to appear in a physical form outside the command and power of their wielder? From what Kuchiki-san has told me, this zanpakuto appeared on their own accord to protect you.”

 

Ichigo remained silent. The red woman made a disapproving cluck of her tongue. “ Impertinent child,” she said in a biting tone.

 

“ He is simply being cautious,” Sode no Shirayuki unexpectedly came to his defence. “ He doesn't know if he could trust us yet.” She turned to face Ichigo and nodded towards the old man to allow him to see that she was including him too. “ Rukia-dono and I don't mean any harm to either of you. We – and Urahara-san – are simply trying to understand the situation.”

 

“ We don't have the time to wait for the human to blither about,” the zanpakuto scornfully said. “ I'd say we should get my master to force the answers out of him and his zanpakuto the easier way. I'd be happy to oblige. It has been a long, long time since we've had a decent warmup.” Her lips curled in sudden bloodlust and the need to decimate something.

 

“ I don't believe that would be the most productive method, Benihime-san,” Sode no Shirayuki said, looking slightly alarmed. “ We are trying to persuade him that we are his allies, not enemies.”

 

“ Then this is all a waste of time,” she sighed distastefully. “ As far as I am concerned, he is a clueless idiot who doesn't know the severity of his situation.”

 

Sode no Shirayuki shot an apologetic look towards Ichigo. “ Ichigo is – ”

 

“ – A mere human able to see zanpakuto when no being, living or dead, has before.” The zanpakuto gave a derisive chuckle. “ What a joke it must be that out of countless souls more suitable and worthy, this clown is the one that is chosen.” Without wasting a breath, she dragged in the old man too. “ As for _him_ , I don't know what he is. He does not have the presence of a zanpakuto yet he behaves like one.” She eyed him suspiciously. “ His nature is far more abnormal and aberrant in nature compared to this silly boy.”

 

“ You don't need to talk like we're not here,” Ichigo finally snapped. He was tired of that zanpakuto treating him like he was a fly on the wall. And from the way the old man bristled, he too was getting irritated.

 

“ We, Kurosaki-san?” Urahara innocently inquired and Ichigo winced, realizing he just gave himself away. Things were far more easier when he only had the old man to contend with! At least the old man was acquiescent and didn't make a fuss like the red zanpakuto was doing, making him lose his temper like that.

 

“ Who are you talking to?” Rukia cut in. She leaned forward like Urahara earlier but not with the intent of examining and investigating every inch of him.

 

“ You can tell Rukia-dono,” Sode no Shirayuki nodded earnestly, her silvery hair bobbing with each movement. “ She wants to help.” Her honest sincerity reflected in the shinigami's eyes.

 

Before he could come to a decision, the old man drifted next to Ichigo without so much as a sound and from the way Rukia's eyes widened and Urahara sat up straighter, the old man had revealed himself.

 

“ How curious,” Urahara breathed. Even his zanpakuto arched an elegant eyebrow.

 

Sode no Shirayuki looked excited, like a child who was about to introduce a new friend to their group. “ Who are you?” Rukia finally asked.

 

The old man made no effort to reply. “ He isn't that talkative,” Ichigo unnecessarily said to cover up the silence.

 

“ Much like his master,” the red zanpakuto sniped. “ If you truly are his master.”

 

Ichigo was about to growl out an insult but the old man frowned. “ I am Ichigo,” he said, as if that alone was enough of an explanation.

 

“ He is your shinigami then?” Urahara pressed.

 

The old man shook his head. “ Ichigo is not a shinigami but I am his.”

 

Confusion reflected off the remaining five people, including Ichigo. “ Interesting,” Urahara smiled, his eyes sparking with something that none of them – except the red zanpakuto, she was the only one sighing and muttering about more nights of lost sleep – fully understood. “ Would you care to elaborate on Kurosaki-san's _other_ ability? I do feel a lengthy conversation occurred between you and a few others while I and Kuchiki-san were excluded.”

 

Ichigo gave the old man a sideways glance, wanting to gauge his reaction. He dipped his head in quiet agreement. “ I can see zanpakuto spirits,” Ichigo muttered.

 

“ Zanpakuto?” Rukia repeated, stunned. “ You can't see spirits or shinigami but you can see zanpakuto?”

 

“ I guess so?”

 

“ You are certainly a fascinating person, Kurosaki-san,” Urahara chuckled. “ May I ask who are the other zanpakuto that you were speaking with?”

 

“ There is Sode no Shirayuki and a Hime something.”

 

“ Benihime,” Urahara and Benihime herself automatically corrected. It was strange hearing perfectly aligned their intonation was, even if Urahara was amused while Benihime was annoyed.

 

Rukia was frowning, chewing the bottom of her lip in uncertainty. “ Tell her,” Sode no Shirayuki quietly said, understanding her wielder's feelings. “ Tell her that she first heard my voice after the first of her three friends died and I told her that death is only another adventure for her and her friends to partake.”

 

He scowled. Was he now a messenger for the zanpakuto or something? Nevertheless, he relayed the message as best as he could. “ Sode no Shirayuki said you two met the night your friend died and she told you that death is another adventure for you to take.”

 

She gave a soft gasp at his words. Her mouth dropped before closing up immediately. What appeared to be a battle of several emotions at once danced across Ruka's face before she finally settled on wonder at the sword lying next to her. “ Sode no Shirayuki?” she whispered in awe.

 

The smile that Sode no Shirayuki gave could have shamed the sun.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And now onto to some action! I'm pleased to finally bring in Zabimaru and Senbonzakura, even if Senbonzakura doesn't say much here. For Zabimaru, I decided to refer to each individual part as "monkey" or "snake" to make it simpler when they talk rather than Zabimaru since both of them are Zabimaru.

Ichigo surveyed the scene before him.

 

Ishida laid on the ground, barely able to raise his head as blood pooled from his side. Rukia's expression was solemn but Sode no Shirayuki beside her appeared shaken – scared even – and she was mutely shaking her head at him, trying to convey her desire for him to stay back. The two figures beside her watched him stoic silence.

 

One had the appearance of a large, white baboon and a twisting, white snake for a tail instead. The snake hissed wordlessly while the baboon calmly told it to be quiet. The other figure was a tall man, garbed in an elaborate samurai outfit with his face hidden behind a mask. He was so still that he resembled more of a statue and he didn't bother to look at Ichigo, being more interested in observing Sode no Shirayuki's reaction.

 

Realizing there were two unseen shinigami before him, Ichigo forced himself to look past the zanpakuto. “ Hey Rukia. What are you doing here?” he asked casually. “ I got your message about you leaving so I decided to come after you before you do something stupid. And why's Ishida on the ground like that?”

 

There was a long pause and someone or someones must have been talking because Rukia's head turned between the two empty spaces with flustered tension. This conversation that most likely involved him without really involving him made Ichigo angry.

 

“ Is there a problem here?” he snapped.

 

Rukia hesitantly answered, with a timid glance at someone towards her right. “ I have to leave because I've committed a crime against Soul Society. I've been compromised and I disobeyed direct orders from my superiors. I have to return to stand trial.”

 

“ That is bulls–”

 

“ Ichigo, listen to me!” she snapped and he never thought he would hear Rukia sound so uncertain and distraught, even when he was fighting Grand Fisher and she thought he and the old man would be outmatched. “ Ichigo,” her voice softened. “ Take Ishida and bring him to a hospital. He needs your assistance far more than me.”

 

“ Don't!” Ishida coughed. “ Ichigo ... there are two ...”

 

He was suddenly cut off with a muffed cry as if someone had kicked him in the face. “ Hey!” Ichigo stepped forward, intending to deliver a good punch to whoever it was that hurt Ishida, invisible or not.

 

“ Renji, wait!” Rukia yelled in warning.

 

He barely had any time to move before the old man appeared with a swish of his black cloak and with his black blade held protectively over Ichigo's head. From the burst of sparks that danced across Ichigo's eyes, something sharp was just inches away from cutting his head.

 

“ Old man,” he breathed.

 

The sparks faded and the old man lowered his sword, his eyes flickering briefly towards Ichigo. Once he was certain that Ichigo was fine, his gaze returned back toward the shinigami that Ichigo still couldn't see. The baboon and snake hybrid raised its hackles, growling and hissing. The masked samurai at last turned to look at Ichigo and the old man, tilting his head in interest.

 

There must have been someone speaking because the old man then quietly replied, “ Ichigo is not a shinigami,” repeating his earlier words to Urahara.

 

Another pause. Ichigo was at a loss to what was said but it was enough to make the old man narrow his eyes. “ Whether or not that is true, he is not one of you,” he carefully reiterated.

 

Seconds lengthened and Ichigo wanted to tear his hair at the silence. Rukia continued swiveling her head back and forth like she was watching an intense tennis match. The old man simply pressed his mouth into a deeper frown, defiantly refusing to speak and answer whatever questions that was being pushed upon him. The remaining three zanpakuto were silent.

 

“ I do not care for the girl,” the old man finally said, pointedly ignoring Ichigo's furious protests. “ However, the moment you lifted your sword against Ichigo, you became my enemy.”

 

Another scathing exchange must have passed and the civil agreement to (temporarily) not fight dissolved because the old man suddenly flung out his arm to shove Ichigo back while simultaneously raising his sword to block another hit.

 

“ Stay behind me,” he warned Ichigo before leaping into the air, sword glinting in the shadowed rays of the lampposts.

 

There was something majestic about the way the old man fought, as he danced and soared through the air, black tendrils of his cloak sweeping behind him like wings. Clangs and screeches of metal against metal resounded in the empty streets. Sometimes, something heavy would shatter the pavement and send bits of concrete flying while the old man's sword would leave ghostly scratches on the walls, evidence of him missing his opponent.

 

Then, things changed for the worse. The old man wasn't able to move quick enough as his opponent. He grunted as something shot past his right shoulder and drew blood.

 

Ichigo hissed in pain, immediately grabbing his right shoulder even when he knew there was no physical wound imprinted on his body. His breathing was beginning to catch and sweat trickled down the back of his neck.

 

It was like the time when they fought against Grand Fisher. In his burning desire for vengeance and rush of adrenaline, Ichigo didn't realize that the longer and harder the old man fought, the more his own energy became depleted. By the time Grand Fisher managed to escape, his knees had given out and he lost consciousness for some time, waking up some time later to the worried voices of Rukia, Sode no Shirayuki and the old man.

 

Rukia sternly forbade him from overtaxing himself like that again. She hypothesized that since the old man took on a corporeal form, Ichigo's strength was already divided just to maintain his material form and it was further sapped as the old man fought and took on injuries, as if Ichigo himself was fighting against Grand Fisher. If the battle lasted any longer, Rukia feared that Ichigo's own life force would have been drained away and he could have died.

 

The old man looked so regretful and mortified for unintentionally hurting Ichigo, the one person he swore to protect, that Ichigo hastily promised to make sure he would alert the old man if he was starting to become tired so something like that would never happen.

 

But this was Rukia and there was someone there trying to take her and Sode no Shirayuki away and he would be damned if he let something like exhaustion stop him.

 

He was too caught up in trying to wipe away that bead of sweat that lingered on his forehead that he barely had time to notice the snake-monkey suddenly leaping towards him.

 

With a curse, Ichigo scrambled away until his back hit the pole. The creature landed lightly on the rail next to him and Ichigo realized with dread it never had any intention to attack him. His panic gave himself away.

 

“ So you can see us, boy,” it drawled smugly.

 

A shadow fell over him and Ichigo spun around to see the masked zanpakuto standing right beside him, cutting off any chances at escape.

 

Swallowing, he chose not to say anything. The old man was busy fighting the shinigami, Rukia appeared to be held back by someone. If the zanpakuto wanted him dead, he was at their mercy.

 

“ Zabimaru-san, Senbonzakura-dono!” Sode no Shirayuki hurried to their side. Stepping in front of Ichigo between the two zanpakuto, she looked resolutely at them as if preparing to fight them, even if she appeared terrified at the thought. “ Ichigo means us no harm.”

 

“ I would not have imagined you to defend a mere human,” the monkey part of the zanpakuto frowned.

 

“ Ichigo is a comrade and friend of Rukia-dono. I would gladly fight on his behalf.”

 

“ He doesn't look special,” the snake snorted. It eyed Ichigo warily as if trying to size up how much damage he could possibly do.

 

“ Except he can see us,” the monkey reminded.

 

“ Ichigo has never abused his ability, Zabimaru-san,” Sode no Shirayuki argued.

 

“ Peace, Sode no Shirayuki. We won't judge the boy yet for something he has not yet done,” the monkey shrewdly said.

 

Ichigo would have asked what the zanpakuto meant by that, if the old man hadn't missed a dodge and received a bloody slash over his chest. Pain exploded across Ichigo's own chest, leaving him doubling over and wheezing. His heart hammered maniacally, pounding against his ribcage like a drum, leaving him hunched over, struggling to breath.

 

“ Ichigo!” Sode no Shirayuki knelt down next to him, gripping his shoulders in a gentle yet firm grasp. “ Are you all right?”

 

“ You don't look so good.” Zabimaru actually had the decency to sound concerned.

 

“ I'm – I'm fine,” Ichigo gritted out.

 

“ How strange,” the monkey mused. “ Every injury that is given to your zanpakuto, you receive as well.”

 

Even in his weakened state, he managed to throw a withered glare at the zanpakuto. “ Thanks for the commentary.”

 

“ What a weirdo,” the snake muttered. “ And I thought Renji was the weirdest out of all of them.” It paused, slithering to the right and looking deliberately at the masked zanpakuto. “ Well, out of humans anyways."

 

“ Renji?” Ichigo managed to ask.

 

“ Our master. The one your zanpakuto is fighting against right now.” The monkey paused, glancing keenly at Ichigo. “ He is a lot like you.”

 

“ Two idiots in the same pot,” the snake tittered.

 

“ Renji is an impulsive one, frequently putting himself in danger for the sake of others,” the monkey admitted. “ But his heart is more often than not in the right place. Perhaps in another lifetime, you two could have been friends.”

 

The very thought of being friends with someone that was trying to take Rukia and Sode no Shirayuki away and harmed Ishida in the process made Ichigo choke back a laugh, even if his chest didn't hurt as much.

 

“ Our apologies.”

 

Ichigo nearly jumped out of his skin. He was surprised that the samurai zanpakuto had abruptly spoken. He was beginning to think he didn't know how to speak. “ For what?”

 

The zanpakuto said no more and he didn't need to because the next thing Ichigo felt was a burning pain cutting deep across his back.

 

Everything slowed down. Ichigo couldn't feel the ground anymore and he was falling fast. He didn't even have enough time to scream. Someone screamed for him and he couldn't tell if it was the old man, Ishida, Rukia or Sode no Shirayuki or if it was all four of them.

 

Blinking through the haze, he managed to catch a glimpse of Sode no Shirayuki trying to grab him, help him before he fell. But he slipped through her hands and the darkness completely enveloped him.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And now for Hollow!Ichigo. For those who aren't up to date with the latest manga chapters (SPOILERS!), we find out that the Hollow was a part of Ichigo since birth. So I thought it would be interesting to have him appear before the training with Urahara. For the purpose of this story, I will be incorporating Hollow!Ichigo as closely as the original manga as possible, though with some changes.

As much as Ichigo was impressed that Orihime and Chad's powers had been developing at a rapid pace, there was still some envy on his part that he wasn't able to develop anything at all.

 

The old man didn't appear when he called and despite Yoruichi's many attempts to get him to focus his minimal reiatsu, he still couldn't see any ghosts or summon the old man. It left him frustrated and on the bad side of Yoruichi's temper.

 

He was still aching and sore, recovering from the effects of the battle, that he later discovered from Urahara that it was Rukia's brother Byakuya was the one who attacked him from behind. He was bedridden for a week and he moved gingerly afterwards, his muscles groaning at any action. Yuzu hovered worriedly over him, believing he had caught the flu and he let them believe that he did. Even his dad didn't try to deliver his usual morning or evening greetings when he noted how pale and sickly Ichigo had become.

 

It would have been worse if it wasn't for Urahara's medication that slowly helped him to build his strength back up. He suspected if it wasn't for that, he would have unable to move for months.

 

Urahara declined any training in the meanwhile, at least until his strength was back up. “ Besides,” the older man drawled. “ It wouldn't be much of a training for either of you if your zanpakuto didn't appear.”

 

“ Save your strength, boy,” Benihime had also added in a surprisingly kind tone. “ It wouldn't be much of a fight if you keeled over at the start.”

 

So here he was, with Orihime, Chad and the black cat Yoruichi, in an abandoned building, trying to reactivate the powers they've previously used. Though Orihime and Chad's method of yelling and pumping their arms in the air didn't appeal to him or Yoruichi.

 

Who exactly Yoruichi was mystified Ichigo. When Urahara introduced his friend, it took most of his mental ability just to comprehend the fact that there was a talking cat (Orihime was far too busy gushing about how cute the cat was and Chad was ambivalent as usual).

 

But if Ichigo looked carefully enough, there was a shadowed figure following Yoruichi and sometimes watching them through the window or right by the door. It was impossible to tell if it was human or an animal, if it was male or female. It moved too silently and quickly for Ichigo to identify any distinguishable features about it.

 

(he thought he caught a glimpse of what looked like a feline creature with multiple tails but it could have just as easily been a swish of a cloak with its sleeves fluttering behind it)

 

It must be a zanpakuto, Ichigo slowly realized, since Yoruichi or Urahara didn't seem to sense it and Orihime and Chad never noticed it either. But how could a cat be ashinigami? Was that even possible?

 

“ Are you paying attention, boy?”

 

He yelped, abruptly disturbed out of his thoughts when Yoruichi slapped a paw over his head.

 

“ As I was saying,” the black cat continued as Ichigo rubbed the back of his head. “ Think back to what you wanted to protect at that time. What or who was it that you wanted to protect?”

 

“ I wanted to protect Tatsuki,” Orihime murmured, eyes glazed over as she remembered that day.

 

Chad said nothing but his brow furrowed, deep in thought.

 

Ichigo frowned. There wasn't anything in particular he wanted to protect that night the old man appeared. And even before then, the old man was always there. As far as Ichigo could remember, the old man was right by his side from the very beginning. If anything, it was _him_ the old man wanted to protect, causing him to take a physical form to defend Ichigo from that Hollow.

 

But the question of _why_ lingered.

 

A sudden cackle rang about in the room, causing him to spin around. An inverted identical version of himself stood there, smirking an oily grin (which Ichigo hoped that he would never show have such an expression on his face), hair, face and skin bleached white and eyes gleaming gold.

 

“ Who are you?” he demanded.

 

“ What a stupid question,” not-Ichigo sneered. “ Use that brain of yours for once. I am you.”

 

“ Where's the old man?” he chose to ask instead, trying to ignore the uncomfortable feeling in his stomach that they repeated eerily similar words to the old man before.

 

Not-Ichigo casually waved his hand around as if swatting away a fly. “ Out of commission. Those shinigami did a real number on him.” He twisted a corner of his mouth as if tasting something unpleasant. “ You should know.”

 

Ichigo shuddered, remembering the sensation of a blade slicing through his back, the pain spreading like wildfire. Byakuya knew exactly where to hit to cause the most damage. Urahara had assured him his medication would remove all traces of scaring but if he chose to check, he could see his skin stretching and knitting together into a pale contorted line, a reminder that he nearly died.

 

“ You were weak,” not-Ichigo continued. “ You should have called me instead. If I was there, the shinigami would be the ones who are dead.”

 

“ I don't even know who you are. I never met you until now.”

 

“ I've been here since the beginning. Same for the old man or whatever you call him. He happened to be nosier than me.”

 

“ Nosy?” Ichigo repeated in confusion. “ What does that mean?”

 

“ He got curious. Wanted to know you. Me? I don't need a reason. I already know who you are. I am you after all.”

 

“ And the old man isn't?”

 

Not-Ichigo grinned, revealing sharp teeth like a shark's. Ichigo knew for a fact his teeth didn't look like someone had taken a saw to them and hacked away at them. “ He will be back soon enough,” he deliberately chose to say instead. “ In the meanwhile, I'm here. And I'm not as nice as the old man. You see, the old man only comes out to protect you. But I don't care for things like that. All I want to is a good fight. Just give me someone to rip to shreds, someone to destroy, someone to _eat_.”

 

“ Someone to eat?” Ichigo looked horrified.

 

“ Why not? We need something to sustain us.” Not-Ichigo was amused. “ That dumb expression on your face is hilarious. This is nothing new. You and your friends eat every day.”

 

“ We _don't_ eat people,” he flatly said.

 

“ There is always the predator and the prey,” not-Ichigo cut in. “ The one at the top and the one at the bottom. The king and the horse. Which one will you be?”

 

“ That – that doesn't make any sense.”

 

“ Of course it does. And you know it. ”

 

Silence descended. Not-Ichigo was watching him with a knowing smirk. Ichigo sighed, feeling drained. The old man never wore him out like this. He absently wondered if Benihime or Zabimaru did the same to their masters. Sode no Shirayuki, he didn't even consider. She was much nicer than the rest of the zanpakuto he had come across put together and she surely wouldn't cause Rukia any grief.

 

“ What's your name?” Ichigo finally asked. “ I would hate to call you 'the other me' all the time.”

 

Not-Ichigo sighed dramatically. “ Still can't hear me, huh? You're just pathetic. And your naming skills suck by the way.”

 

“ I hear you just fine,” he bristled, ignoring the jab about his ability to name people.

 

“ Not with those plugged up ears of yours. You didn't hear me until I called out to you. You shouldn't have to ask me my name because you should already know my name.”

 

Ichigo glowered at him. “ Why do you and the old man have to be so cryptic? If you really are me, _I_ wouldn't have made it so difficult to understand what you two are babbling about!”

 

This made not-Ichigo throw back his head and laugh. The unexpected apparent hilarity at Ichigo's words took Ichigo back, leaving him awkwardly rooted in place. He gritted his teeth as he impatiently waited until not-Ichigo was ready to talk again.

 

“ Your face when you said that,” not-Ichigo wheezed. “ This is going to be more fun than I thought. I can't wait to screw with you more later on.”

 

“ Don't know how you could be so different from the old man,” Ichigo petulantly muttered to himself.

 

A sudden thought struck him and he frowned contemplatively. “ If you are a zanpakuto like the old man, how do I have two of you? I thought shinigami only have one. Or a two-in-one animal thing like that Renji guy.”

 

“ You aren't a shinigami, idiot. The old man kept telling you and the others that. Weren't you listening?”

 

“ Then what am I?” he demanded.

 

Not-Ichigo bared his teeth again, in an oddly frightening yet reassuring manner. “ That's for you to decide.”

 

“ Kurosaki-kun?”

 

Startled, he spun around to face a concerned Orihime. “ Are you all right?” She didn't need to say he was talking to himself for a long period of time. “ Was it your zanpakuto? Did he come back?”

 

Chad was also looking worriedly at him. Yoruichi had an unfathomable expression.

 

Ichigo glanced about in the room but he didn't need to use his eyes to know that the ghostly version of him was gone.

 

“ Sort of.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do hope I'm not going too slowly in the story. I did intend this to be slow-building and I will be focusing on the Soul Society arc a bit longer due to all the zanpakuto we get to meet (or didn't meet) in canon.
> 
> Also, I shamelessly was inspired by Pokemon, particularly the manga Pokemon Adventures/Special in regards to Ichigo's developing abilities where as a Pokemon trainer especially in the manga, they had to be observant about their Pokemon, their opponent and their environment in order to tip the scales in their advantage. In fact, one of my favourite battles was Red vs Giovanni where Giovanni deliberately went after Red's Pokeballs to prevent him from even bringing out his Pokemon to win by default. And since Ichigo is known to be a sort of "therapist" when it comes to fighting his several enemy-turned-friends, I thought it would be a nice touch.

The smile on Urahara's face was simultaneously a comfort to see and yet immensely annoying to witness. Benihime who was hovering to Urahara's left shoulder dipped her head briefly in acknowledgement towards Ichigo's direction when he approached them.

 

“ Great to see you again, Kurosaki-kun,” he pleasantly greeted. “ I take it your zanpakuto has fully recovered?”

 

By 'recovered', Ichigo meant that it seemed that the old man was back and appeared to not have any lasting damage but refused to come out as often now. He became moody and ill-tempered once Ichigo mentioned not-Ichigo appearing and he himself vanished more frequently to wherever he went when he wasn't with Ichigo. (for that matter, not-Ichigo hadn't made a reappearance since that day and Ichigo was somewhat relieved not hearing his taunting cackles). Their conversations became more brief and one-sided – more so than usual, and it left Ichigo baffled and frustrated.

 

“ He has. And he's not my zanpakuto,” he added out of habit.

 

“ Of course he isn't,” Urahara chirped. “ Let's get started then!” He clapped his hands together like a teacher before directing Ichigo further down the training room.

 

“ What will we be doing?” Ichigo cautiously asked. He refused to let his imagination run wild of being chased by Hollows to improve his speed or – heaven forbid – doing pushups with Tessai sitting on top of his back.

 

“ My original plan won't be of much use for you. It's a shame you never had any amount of reiatsu in you. So even if I were to separate your spiritual body from your mortal body and try to strengthen your reiatsu that way, it wouldn't do much good. You're as dry as a bone in the desert, I'm afraid.”

 

“ I'm going to kill you,” Ichigo growled.

 

“ You can certainly try,” Benihime smirked. Ichigo wondered why the zanpakuto was in a pleasant mood – or at least, as pleasant as she could be. There was a light spring to her step and her eyes gleamed with anticipation.

 

“ My, my. We have plenty of time for insults later,” Urahara cheerfully said, indulgently missing what had passed between him and Benihime.

 

“ Here we are.” He indicated the vast underground training area that resembled a barren, rocky terrain. “ For the next ten days, we will be here. This training ground is designed to withstand attacks of all sorts and to block out sounds from the inside so we should be relatively left to our own devices.”

 

Ichigo rolled his shoulders, stretching out his legs. “ All right. Let's start. What are we doing?”

 

“ It's quite simple. I want you to run while I attack.” Urahara smiled deceptively at the end of his sentence, saying it so causally that Ichigo had to pause to make sure he had heard correctly.

 

“ That's it?” he incredulously said, having expected something a little more impressive from the way Yoruichi was warning him about Urahara's extreme methods. “ That's your training?”

 

“ Why not? What you need when you invade Soul Society is not tactics or battle techniques. There is too little time for you to learn those things. What you need is _experience_.”

 

A sharp blade suddenly sliced through the air and Ichigo barely had enough time to flinch. In a blink of an eye, the old man materialized, one hand seizing Ichigo's shoulder backwards, angling his body just so the sword slash narrowly missed taking off his head from his neck.

 

Before he could start voicing his alarm, Urahara smoothly spoke over him, slinging his sword over his shoulder. “ If I was able to leave that,” he pointed to his own cheek, mirroring Ichigo's bloody cheek. “ Then neither of you are fast enough.”

 

The old man frowned but did not disagree with Urarara's statement. Ichigo was still fuming that he nearly lost his head.

 

“ There are several lieutenants and captains in Soul Society much quicker than I am,” he continued. “ Some only need less than a second to kill you in a hundred different ways. I'm not here to teach you to defend yourself against that. I'm here to teach your zanpakuto to learn how to defend you better.”

 

Another slash across the air. Ichigo could smell the sizzle of the air igniting before the old man dragged him off to the side. Stones and dust rained down on them as he stared dumbly at the deep fissure that was precisely where he was standing seconds ago.

 

“ Will you really be carrying Kurosaki-kun around like that all the time?” Urahara playfully asked the old man. “ He must be a heavy load for someone like you.”

 

“ Shut up! I'm not heavy!”

 

“ He is not incorrect,” the old man finally said. He raised a slim hand to cut off Ichigo's indignant splutters that he had not put on any weight. “ As in the last fight with the shinigami, I was not able to come to your aid when the second shinigami attacked him while I was distracted with the first one.”

 

“ Then what do you want us to do about – ?”

 

Ichigo's question became a strangled yell as the old man hauled him off again to dodge another crimson streak. “ Do mind your opponent,” Urahara mildly reminded.

 

Coming to a silent decision, the old man half-hefted, half-lifted Ichigo and sprinted off without another word. Ichigo violently bobbed like a doll, sandwiched between the old man's shoulder and his arm, watching as Urahara fired several more energy blasts before he could even yell out a warning.

 

The old man didn't even need to turn around to realize this. With a speed that would have made a cheetah jealous, he zig-zagged through the rocky terrain, allowing the blasts to leave craters in his wake.

 

Having found a suitable hiding spot, as far away as possible from the approaching Urahara, the old man deposited Ichigo in a heap to the ground. “ Find a place to hide,” he instructed, glancing carefully over his shoulder. “ And stay out of sight. I'll distract him.”

 

Ichigo scowled despite the fact he was at this point deadweight and wasn't much use in a fight. “ I won't run and hide while you are risking your life!” he hissed.

 

“ Should anything happen to you, I ...” The old man's grip on Ichigo's shoulder tightened. “ ... I would not be able to fight on your behalf.”

 

And before Ichigo could protest, the old man vanished over the boulder and Urahara merrily welcomed him back into the fray. Now Ichigo wasn't suicidal but he had a strong desire to leap over his diminutive defence and join the fight. He might have if Benihime hadn't joined him.

 

“ Surely you aren't _that_ stupid,” she said in a bored voice, startling him. “ Your zanpakuto went through all that trouble to hide you and you would throw his efforts away?”

 

“ Shut up,” he snapped. But he knew both the old man and her were right. He stared uselessly at the rough surface of the boulder as if looking hard enough would allow him to see the fight.

 

Benihime on the other hand had a different outlook. She was practically humming with delight. “ I haven't had this much fun in decades,” she twittered, blissfully ignoring the distant sounds of the ground rumbling and shuddering.

 

“ Your definition of fun alarms me,” he shot back.

 

She sighed wistfully. “ You couldn't even begin to understand my happiness, boy. Urahara and I hardly spoke in the last century, let alone use me to fight. Now, he prefers to retreat into his mind and leave me out. The last time he used me was almost twenty years ago when he – but that story is for another time. And watch out,” she lazily warned and Ichigo yelped as another red slash flew right over his head and rocks showered down on him.

 

“ So why not make him talk to you?” Ichigo asked as he slowly uncovered his head, curiosity getting the better of him. “ He is you, isn't he?”

 

“ It isn't that simple,” Benihime frowned. “ We can only speak when he chooses to enter my Inner World. You and your zanpakuto are an anomaly due to the fact you could communicate so freely together.”

 

Communicate? A wild idea struck Ichigo and he must thought of himself crazy for trying it, but like Benihime said, he and the old man aren't normal anyways. Squeezing his eyes shut, he steered himself towards the old man, even trying to picture him fighting with his abnormally large sword against Urahara to help with the mental projection.

 

_Old man! Can you hear me?_

 

The swift flood of surprise that wasn't his own nearly made Ichigo laugh out loud. _Ichigo?_ the old man sent back, confusion rippling across his “voice”.

 

 _It – it worked! I didn't think it would,_ Ichigo babbled like an overexcited child. _It was just a guess if I could speak to you this way. Benihime gave me the idea, since we aren't like normal zanpakuto or shinigami anyways and I thought to give it a try._

 

 _I_ _**am** _ _in the middle of a battle right now, Ichigo,_ the old man reminded him, amused.

 

_Right, sorry._

 

_Is there something urgent you wished to tell me?_

 

_Err ..._

 

 _... At least we know it works,_ the old man courteously said.

 

Ichigo scowled and at his annoyance, the old man allowed a hint of mirth to flow through their connection. It was a strange yet euphoric feeling, spreading warmth from Ichigo's chest to the tips of his fingers, that the old man was allowing Ichigo into his mind and talking like they used to before meeting Rukia and Sode no Shirayuki, before any of this happened. To not speak like Urahara and Benihime for such a long period of time was something Ichigo couldn't even comprehend.

 

Feeling curiously unafraid, he peered around the edge of the boulder in spite of Benihime's objections.

 

Even from the distance, Ichigo could tell that Urahara was still pleasantly smiling, even as he wielded Benihime in deadly precision. The old man fought Urahara as if he didn't hear or feel any of Ichigo's thoughts and emotions, so composed and expressionless.

 

But there was a certain distinction in their fight and Ichigo only realized it once he actually saw them fighting. Even though Benihime claimed it was over two decades ago that Urahara had last used her, it appeared as if he never lost any skill in battle. Every move and motion he made, he did it in a calculating fashion, quietly and subtly driving his opponent into a corner.

 

The old man while still formidable didn't have that same technique. His sword swung and often missed or Urahara was able to easily deflect it. He frequently pulled back his arm like he was about to draw an arrow rather than using a sword. Whether it was due to lack of experience or something else, it was clear that he was not at the same level as Urahara.

 

Ichigo could feel the old man getting exhausted, could feel that same exhaustion creeping into his bones. Though there was no serious injury other than the odd cut or scrape, the old man would sustain one quickly if this were to keep up.

 

Then, the old man made a mistake – Ichigo couldn't tell if it was the sweat tickling down his eyes or his fatigue got to him – but he briefly faltered and that was all Urahara needed.

 

Urahara raised his arm, about to strike and to bring grievous injury to the old man, and Ichigo reacted as if he was the one fighting and not the old man.

 

_Watch out!_

 

Suddenly, the sword twisted in the old man's hands as if gaining a mind of its own and spun directly towards Urahara's sword, to shield and protect. The erupting black energy blast from the sword was not expected by either party. The resulting clash between sword against sword resonated through the terrain, sending a spiral of dust and debris flying in all directions, along with Urahara's hat that now bore a neat slice across its rim.

 

Urahara's eyes widened and so did the old man. Shock from the old man pressed against Ichigo's suddenly pounding head. _Ichigo, how – ?_

 

Ichigo would have answered but the next thing he knew, he was lying on his back and staring up at the painted blue ceiling and Tessai was pressing a cool cloth to his forehead. Realizing he must have blacked out, he gingerly raised his head. Urahara and Benihime were standing off to the side.

 

“ You lasted a little longer than I expected,” Urahara beamed cheerfully, sword thankfully sheathed. “ How do you feel Kurosaki-san?”

 

He turned his head and found the old man kneeling next to him. There was no emotion on his face but the old man's eyes gleamed of nervous uncertainty. The realization of what they just did slowly sunk in and soon, the two of them were smiling at each other, breathless with exhilaration, not needing to say a single word about what they were truly capable of.

 

“ Like I could take on Soul Society,” he grinned.

 


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone reading and reviewing this! 
> 
> I have a fun time writing Shinso. I had this mental image of him of being a Medusa-like character, half-human, half-snake to illustrate his dangerous unpredictable nature. It also highlights how underneath his monstrous appearance, he retains a part of his humanity (especially in regards to Matsumoto).

Logically, Ichigo knew that entering a place where it was full of shinigami, he should have expected to see several mix-and-match zanpakuto or strangely dressed zanpakuto after having dealt with Zabimaru and Senbozakura. But still, he didn't expect it to be a freaking circus. Especially his encounter with his first shinigami and their zanpakuto in Soul Society.

 

Urahara had explained that since he was entering the spirit world, even someone as spiritually insensitive as him would be able to see shinigami and spirits to a certain extent due to the accumulated reiatsu in the air. And true enough, Ichigo was able to see better defined shapes and forms of the spirits that resided there, even if their edges remained blurry when they moved or shifted too quickly for his eyes to follow.

 

It felt strange to finally see and hear what Orihime, Chad and Ishida could so easily see, as naturally as they breathed. He almost laughed out loud when he saw the giant guardian Jidanbo at the same time as the others, nearly mistaking him as a shinigami in his glee.

 

The old man was quietly amused by his excitement ( _how could I not?_ he shot back. _I now know what you can see. And Karin and Yuzu. And everyone else!_ ). But hidden deep within the old man, Ichigo somehow was able to sense a lingering melancholy, like a smothering edge of regret. What that meant Ichigo had no time to ask because Jidanbo soon challenged them in a fight to gain entry into Seireitei which the old man and Ichigo were all too willing to join to show off their new found prowess to the others and revel at their combined strength. And not too long after the battle was concluded, an actual shinigami arrived.

 

The perpetually smiling man was introduced as Gin, a captain of the shinigami. His pale and thin appearance resembled his zanpakuto – the human part at least, the rest of it had glistening scales and a serpentine tail. The human was bare-chested and muscular with birdlike talons instead of hands. Dark, twisting hair dangled past his shoulders, resembling coiled emerald snakes.

 

_Be alert,_ the old man cautioned. _Gin may be as dangerous if not more than Kuchiki Byakuya. We must not let the same mistake occur twice._

 

Try as he might, Ichigo happened to be a bit more preoccupied with Gin's zanpakuto whose large body slithered uncomfortably close to him.

 

“ So you are the human boy that Zabimaru was talking about,” he said, his forked tongue poking out, close enough to almost touch the old man's cheek. “ What shall we do with such an interesting person?” He deliberately drew out his 's' in a taunting manner.

 

The old man stood a little closer to Ichigo, eyes narrowing. His sword was tilted just enough to shield Ichigo from any unexpected attacks. His face remained focused on Gin but his eyes flicked towards the zanpakuto in frequent intervals.

 

Ichigo on the other hand fidgeted awkwardly, wondering how much Rukia, Renji and Byakuya had told the other shinigami about his ability. Or what Sode no Shirayuki and Zabimaru had reported to the other zanpakuto. Urahara had warned him about being so laxed and nonchalant about his ability so he dared not say anymore in front of Gin. Gin's zanpakuto might be as honest as any other zanpakuto could be but Ichigo didn't trust Gin one bit.

 

“ You don't need to worry,” said zanpakuto grinned. “ The shinigami including my own only know about you being able to summon him.” He jerked his head towards the old man. “ They don't know about you being able to see us. The name is Shinso by the way,” he added with a drawl.

 

Regardless, that didn't provide much comfort to Ichigo, especially since Shinso appeared to be taking enjoyment watching him squirm uneasily as he edged around Ichigo's personal space, just keeping his tail and body out of it as if to mock Ichigo.

 

“ It is all right if you don't talk. I just want you to listen.” Shinso finally settled on one spot next to Ichigo. “ It took some time but we finally got the juicy details out from Sode no Shirayuki. She's quite protective of you, by the way. She actually threatened harm if any one of us did anything to you. And she was supposed to be one of the nicer zanpakuto.” He raised a prying eyebrow at Ichigo as if that would reveal more secrets. “ If I didn't know better, I'd say she fancied you. Now that caused a bit of an uproar among us.”

 

“ Us?” Ichigo muttered, resolutely staring forward at Gin, pretending to ignore the little creaks and clacks of Shinso's scales as they rubbed together with every tiny motion.

 

“ The zanpakuto. We've never had one like you before. We are all itching to meet you, the human who could see us. And the human that has managed to enamour Sode no Shirayuki so much. Wondering what is so special about you.”

 

Shinso smiled, a duplicate feature on his face to match his wielder. Suspiciously cheerful yet obscurely unreadable. Ichigo frowned, refusing to say any more out of fear that Gin would get curious and start asking questions.

 

_What do you think?_ he asked the old man instead. 

 

_While Shinso may not be telling us the entire picture, he is certainly disclosing a certain truth_ , the old man mused and Ichigo mentally sighed. Leave it to the old man to be his usual cryptic self. 

 

_Forget about Shinso. We need to find a way to get past Gin. Jidanbo can't hold the gate up much longer._

 

“ I hope I'm not boring you?” Gin himself politely interrupted without realizing he was interrupting them. “ Because I never had the impression that I was a dull person.”

 

“ No, you're not,” Ichigo answered a little too quickly.

 

“ He isn't,” Shinso chipped in. “ Gin will play nice with you but once you no longer have any use to him, he will eat you, bones and all. He is a very, very dedicated person. Once he commits himself to one goal, he will follow it through to the end and anything and anybody in his way will get torn to pieces.”

 

He flexed his clawed fingers, almost bringing them to the side of Ichigo's face, making him flinch. The old man tensed, gripping his sword, ready to retaliate. “ I hope you and your zanpakuto don't make an adversary out of Gin. He can be a reliable ally or your worst enemy. And I do want us to continue to stay on good terms. Especially with you, Kurosaki Ichigo. You are an interesting person. I particularly want to see what you are capable of doing.”

 

Something must have reflected Ichigo's discomfort, whether through his facial expression or body movement, because Gin decided to comment on it. “ You seem distracted.” He smiled even wider, casually twirling a knife that definitely wasn't there a second ago between his fingers with ease. “ I am curious as to what is so interesting that your attention has been focused on it so readily instead of me.”

 

Ichigo gulped. “ Nothing,” he said, decidedly not looking at the sweetly smiling Shinso as if he wasn't making any threats earlier.

 

“ I'm happy to hear that,” he pleasantly said. “ But back to task, I'm afraid I can't let you pass, Kurosaki Ichigo.”

 

“ Watch your stomach,” Shinso idly piped up and that was only warning they got before Gin's 'knife' shot forward like a bullet.

 

The old man instinctively brought up his sword but it wasn't enough as the sword sent him, Ichigo and Jidanbo flying backwards in quick succession. Ichigo managed to caught a glimpse of Shinso cackling madly at his shocked expression before he and the others landed in a tumbling heap of limbs on the ground.

 

With his breath knocked out of him, Ichigo could only remain lying there, sandwiched between the old man and the motionless Jidanbo. A questioning concern pressed against his skull and he hurriedly tried to convey that he wasn't hurt.  _I'm fine! Jidanbo cushioned my fall. You?_

 

_I am mostly unhurt._ The old man frowned thoughtfully.  _That shinigami never had any intent to do lasting injury to us._

 

_What?_ Ichigo incredulously exclaimed.  _Didn't you see him attacking us?_

 

_If he wanted to do more damage, he would have aimed for our heads. And Shinso would not have made an attempt to warn us. After all, a zanpakuto is the reflection of a shinigami's soul._

 

_He is just as bad as his wielder,_ he petulantly conveyed.  _Why do all of them have to act like such annoying brats?_

 

“ The gates!” someone yelled, jolting Ichigo and the old man out from their thoughts and back to the present.

 

The large door began their rapid descent and there was nothing the others could do to prevent it. Shinso stood next to Gin, imitating Gin's mocking wave from the other side.

 

“ Don't disappoint us, boy!” the zanpakuto called out, just as the gates slammed back down to the ground with a thundering crash.

 


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Boy, I have a bad habit of knocking Ichigo out at the end of a chapter, don't I? Sorry about the delay with this chapter. I've been busy with personal matters and I'm afraid this may be the last chapter for some time until I can get things sorted out. For now, I hope you enjoy this.

“ This way,” Hanataro whispered as he beckoned Ichigo and Ganju deeper into the sewers.

 

A part of him wanted to question why he was even trusting this shinigami. The only thing they had to rely on was his word that he knew Rukia and spoke to her during her imprisonment. For all they knew, Hanataro could have been leading them into a trap.

 

 _I sense no malicious intent in his reiatsu_ , the old man reaffirmed again. At Ichigo's hesitation, he pointed out, _Why not ask his zanpakuto? A zanpakuto cannot hide their true purpose even if they may twist it to their own ends like Shinso._

 

The only problem with that was Hanataro's zanpakuto was too timid and barely managed to stutter out any sort of sentence in coherent syllables, though only the words “I” and “am” and “sorry” were the clearest.

 

“ What's your name?” Ichigo had asked, deliberately staring directly at the zanpakuto perched behind Hanataro's right ear.

 

Even as Hanataro repeated his name again, the zanpakuto hid behind a lock of hair, trying to bury itself there, mumbling under its breath.

 

“ It's all right,” Ichigo sighed. “ Tell me whenever you're ready.”

 

The zanpakuto perked up, its one eye blinking in interest, even as his shinigami was confused at Ichigo's words.

 

As they travelled down the sewers, it was most content to stay hanging off of its shinigami's shoulder, occasionally glancing at Ichigo or the old man but quickly looking away with a muffled apology if it was caught staring. But once in a while it would pipe up, such as the time when he warned Ichigo to watch his step to avoid getting his feet soaked from the surprisingly deep puddle.

 

Still, it was nice to have some peace and quiet since storming Seireitei. Compared to Hozukimaru, a towering beast of a zanpakuto, who delighted in mockingly patting Ichigo's head like he was a pet and frequently mimicked the dance his master created for the sole purpose of annoying Ichigo, this zanpakuto had a relaxing presence much like the old man that Ichigo would gladly take over Hozukimaru anytime.

 

Which was quite telling of Hanataro's nature. He was curious about Ichigo from what he heard from Rukia but was careful not to indulge everything until he knew that he could trust Ichigo.

 

“ We're here,” Hanataro announced, after inspecting to make sure they were alone. “ This is the most direct path to where Rukia is being held. I'm sorry this is the closest I can take you.”

 

“ Sorry,” his zanpakuto echoed.

 

“ No, this is fine. Thanks for all your help.” Ichigo gave a sideways glance to Hanataro's zanpakuto. “ You were a great help.”

 

It turned crimson and ducked behind Hanataro's shoulder. “ H-H-Hisagomaru!” it chirped, popping its head back up for a second to look at him before hiding once again.

 

Just as Ichigo realized he was given a name, the old man hissed, _By the staircase!_

 

A red-haired man stood there, swathed in the billowing mist. Black tattoos marked his face and neck in symmetrical patterns. “ So you finally arrived, huh?” he said grimly.

 

With a gasp, Hanataro began to tremble. “ That's – that person is – ”

 

Ichigo was about to demand who he was but out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a familiar monkey-snake hybrid trailing languidly behind the man.

 

“ Boy,” Zabimaru acknowledged with a nod.

 

That was all Ichigo needed for confirmation. “ You're Renji.”

 

“ I don't remember introducing myself to you the last time we met.” The shinigami narrowed his eyes warily. “ Especially since you couldn't even see or hear me.”

 

Ichigo quietly cursed at his slip up. He fervently wished that Ganju and Hanataro would stop staring at him in confusion and suspicion. “ I – err heard Rukia mention you before and I figured it was you,” he lamely said.

 

Renji looked unconvinced and even the old man in his head hummed in resignation. The snake part of Zabimaru snorted. “ What an idiot,” it said.

 

“ Doesn't matter anyways,” Renji continued. “ I'm surprised you are still alive. I thought Kuchiki-taichou's attack would have killed a stronger person. For someone like you who doesn't have any notable reiatsu, the fact that you are standing here is something worth mentioning.”

 

“ Thank you,” Ichigo shot back, matching Renji's sneering tone.

 

“ But this is the end of the line. You will die here by my hand. I told you – well, not you but your zanpakuto before – that I will kill the one who did this to Rukia.”

 

“ What are you talking about?” Ichigo frowned. “ I didn't do anything to Rukia.”

 

“ Her reiatsu is gone! Sucked away by you!” Renji harshly said, fury blazing in his eyes. “ You took all of it! How else would you explain why she had to stay in that flimsy human gigai this whole time?”

 

That explained Rukia and Sode no Shirayuki's reluctance to fight after their meeting. Thinking back, Ichigo had assumed the reason why Rukia was mostly staying out of his battles was because she was still recovering from the initial Hollow attack. Sode no Shirayuki had hovered worriedly over her wielder for days on end during that period. But eventually, Rukia began being more involved in his fights, such as with Chad and Shrieker and with Grand Fisher, so he had assumed she was back to full strength.

 

But now, he realized why Rukia's zanpakuto never changed form and remained in its lackluster appearance, compared to the vivid and distinctive designs of Gin or Ikkaku's swords.

 

“ I didn't take Rukia's reiatsu,” he sought to defend himself. “ I don't even remember doing something like that. And if I did, I never meant to.”

 

“ Well you can apologize to Rukia by letting me kill you! Once you're dead, her reiatsu will return to her!”

 

Renji brandished his sword and with a flash of light, it became a larger jagged sword with six segments, each piece as deadly as the next. And its tip was suddenly swinging towards Ichigo.

 

Faster than they could blink, the old man was already there to intercept it.

 

“ Relying on your zanpakuto to fight your battles again?” Renji scoffed. “ You're nothing more than a coward.”

 

“ You are wrong,” the old man spoke up. “ I _am_ Ichigo.”

 

Their swords collided once more, releasing a violent ripple of reiatsu to crackle the air and sending shock waves through the ground. Ichigo gritted his teeth, feeling the strain in his muscles as the old man tried to push Renji back. They knew of the sword's weakness, thanks to Urahara. This won't be a repeat of last time and the solemn agreement from the old man made him smile confidently.

 

“ Who – who is that?” Hanataro fearfully asked. He had nearly forgot that this was Hanataro's first time seeing the old man.

 

Ganju was frowning but at least, he had seen the old man before when he and the others were at Kukaku's, trying to push their reiatsu into the reishukaku sphere. Despite his many attempts, Ichigo failed dismally at even forming a tiny spark of a barrier, at Kukaku's disapproval and the pitying glances of Orihime, Chad and Ishida.

 

But once the old man appeared and placed his hands over Ichigo's and the sphere glowed and that was all that was needed to make things right.

 

“ That's the old man,” Ichigo answered, as if that was enough. At Hanataro's confused look, he sighed. “ I guess he's my zanpakuto? That's what everyone's been calling him.”

 

“ But you are not a – ”

 

“ – a shinigami? I'm not one,” he shrugged carelessly.

 

“ Which makes you something special, as I had said before,” Zabimaru unexpectedly joined in.

 

The zanpakuto lazily settled itself next to Ichigo, just as Shinso had done, watching the ensuing fight with interest. Hisagomaru slowly raised its head from its spot before squeaking in fright and burrowing itself deeper into Hanataro's sleeve once Zabimaru turned towards it. “ I'm sorry!” it mumbled.

 

“ Is that all you can say?” the snake grumbled.

 

Ichigo would have told Zabimaru off for frightening off Hisagomaru if the resulting crash hadn't made all of them snap to attention.

 

His back arched in pain as the old man flew into the opposing wall, sending debris flying. Something sharp dug into the side of his head and Ichigo instinctively placed a hand above his brow as if to wipe away the blood there.

 

_Old man!_

 

 _I am ... fine_ , he replied breathlessly, gingerly picking himself up. His cloak was covered in dust and a part of his shades was cracked and smeared with blood. He didn't have any time to take a breath as Renji swooped in, sword shrieking in delight as it decimated the wall and building behind the old man.

 

Hanataro and Ganju were at Ichigo's side, troubled at his abruptly taut posture. “ What happened? Are you hurt?”

 

“ It's nothing,” Ichigo gritted out. He could feel the exhaustion and tension building in the old man as he took several more wounds to the shoulder and arms. He tried not to let his worry and rising panic seep through their bond.

 

 _He is faster than I am_ , the old man reluctantly admitted.

 

“ His timing was good,” Renji said, jerking his head towards Ichigo, paying a rare compliment. “ You were smart to attack me when my sword had retracted. But we are on two different levels. Your zanpakuto cannot reach me.”

 

It was the simple and cold truth and Ichigo could feel the slowly growing despair that was tied between him and the old man.

 

“ Will you save Rukia?” Zabimaru suddenly asked.

 

He wasn't sure if he heard right. “ What?” Ichigo dumbly said.

 

“ Will you save Rukia?” it repeated. “ Will you protect her?”

 

“ What sort of question is that?” Ichigo demanded, trying to hide his wince as his vision alternated between clear and blurry. He promptly ignored Hanataro and Ganju staring as he spoke openly to the empty air. “ Of course I will!”

 

“ But can you? Are you and your zanpakuto strong enough?” Zabimaru pressed. “ There are still thirteen captains and some odd number of vice captains for you to defeat if you have any hope of rescuing Rukia.”

 

“ It doesn't matter who we have to fight,” he snapped, agony radiating throughout his entire body making him ill-tempered. “ We'll fight anyone who tries to stop us from reaching Rukia.”

 

“ But you _are_ afraid,” Zabimaru said.

 

( _“Are you afraid of getting hit?” Urahara had asked. “ Are you afraid of getting hurt? Are you afraid of dying? I can sense the fear in your sword and in each other. If you give in to the fear of the fight, you cannot win!_ ”)

 

“ Not anymore,” he breathed. Ichigo lifted his head out of sheer determination and Zabimaru raised its eyebrow at the change. “ I will rescue Rukia and Sode no Shirayuki! I have to!”

 

“ Sode ... no Shirayuki?” Ganju cut in abruptly, unable to take this one-sided conversation any longer. “ Who is that?”

 

He was fortunately – or unfortunately – saved from answering when the old man wasn't fast enough to avoid Renji's slash, burdened down with fatigue and blood loss. The pain that burned through his shoulder and chest made Ichigo drop to his knees.

 

“ Ichigo!”

 

He doubled over, arms wrapped around his chest, trying to smoulder the howl that made its way to his throat. Struggling to raise his head, he squinted, barely making out the scene before him.

 

Like him, the old man was on his knees, sword hung limply at his side. Blood gushed from all his wounds but none was more serious than the one across his chest, drenching his cloak down his arm and chest. His breathing came in short gasps that shook his shoulders. Paralysed with pain, the old man could only contemptuously glare at his enemy who was evidently done talking.

 

Renji's sword swung down over the old man's neck –

 

_No!_

 

– the blade screamed as it moved on its own accord, huge amounts of reiatsu suddenly pouring in, and lashed out towards the one who would do it harm.

 

The sword in Renji's hand didn't stand a chance as the steel was completely and entirely snapped off and broken by the ensuing strike. Renji staggered back, blood splattered over his face and clothes, shock riddling across his face before his eyes rolled up and he lost consciousness. Zabimaru's eyes widened as the snake part hissing in alarm. The monkey questioningly looked at Ichigo who had also collapsed on the ground.

 

“ Ichigo!”

 

_Ichigo!_

 

Hanataro hurriedly placed him on his back, frantically searching for some way to heal the unseen wounds that caused this. Ganju was gripping Ichigo's shoulder, shaking him and yelling words that he couldn't understand. (and where was the old man? Why couldn't he see him?) The world above him was spinning and slowly becoming dimmer. He could hear his own breathing loud and harsh in his ears.

 

Something moved at the corner of his eye and Ichigo weakly turned his head to see Zabimaru staring down at him with an inscrutable expression. “ We will leave it to your hands then,” it solemnly declared.

 

In a surprising gentle gesture, the snake lowered itself and rested its face against Ichigo's cheek, a cool caress to his feverish skin. “ Please save Rukia and Sode no Shirayuki,” it murmured. “ Do what we cannot do.”

 

He coughed, making a gurgling sound. “ I – ”

 

“ Rest, boy,” the monkey said softly. “ You will be facing more challenges soon. You need to save your strength. Perhaps if you are lucky, we may meet again, this time as allies.”

 

His injured body finally succumbed to exhaustion and he drifted away to the blissful darkness.


End file.
